A school in China built with donations has finally opened - as a car dealership

BEIJING - A Chinese village accepted donations to build a new primary school, and then promptly leased the completed building to a car dealership, in a case that appears to be another example of the corruption that is rife across China's countryside. In 2010, Zhaocun in Shaanxi province finished building its new 1.9 million yuan (S$379,000) primary school, with a 254,000 yuan donation from Hong Kong philanthropist Run Run Shaw. Just two weeks after, it turned the building over to the Weida Auto Dealership, which paid village leaders 1.75 million yuan for the use of the school, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. A large glass showroom now stands in the playground next to the three-floor Zhaocun Yifu school, while the classrooms are being used to store vehicle parts and as car repair workshops. Meanwhile, the 100 pupils hoping to study in the new school have been shifted...